


Character development

by CathyGotLost



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Crack Treated Seriously, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Gender-neutral Reader, Herobrine is not evil guys, Humor, Kinda, M/M, Other, Reader's gender is not specified, Slow Burn, but then i realised i'm thirsty for herbrine too so, for us it's like a few chapters, it was going to be crack, just a bit of a dick, literally based on a memey tumblr post, reader grew up in a village, reader is gender-neutral, the longest thing i've written so far, there we are, to the reader it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27894874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CathyGotLost/pseuds/CathyGotLost
Summary: When you were young, you've heard about Herobrine a thousand times. The stories were meant to scare kids like you into behaving, but it kinda backfired, because now you were set on beating the white-eyed creature in an epic battle.You can do it if you just believe in yourself, right?
Relationships: Herobrine (Minecraft)/Reader
Comments: 15
Kudos: 53





	1. Child

**Author's Note:**

> ayyy i'm having my minecraft phase again. the 12 year old in me is screaming in joy at all the updates thay've had in the time i didn't play. 
> 
> so anyway, i saw this post on tumblr, about our 12 y/o selves fearing herobrine and fantasizing about beating him, and then our current selves being horny for him and for some reason decided it was a great idea for a fic, for some reason. and before i could stop myself, my hand slipped. oops
> 
> heres the post fellas, i found it: https://soupy-cooper.tumblr.com/post/177634373298
> 
> but yeah, if you see any mistakes, feel free to point them out, as english is not my first language. enjoy i guess.

When you were really small and lived in your old village, the adult would tell you a story of Herobrine. A vengeful ghost… or an angry forest spirit… or even a fallen god, stripped of his status by Notch – every story was different when it came to explaining what Herobrine really is. But the core was always the same – he’s a man with glowing white eyes and supernatural abilities, who burns villages and stalks and kills lonely mines. No matter who told the story and how they interpreted Herobrine’s origin, he was always the same – a powerful entity with undying hunger for blood and destruction.

While most people really did believe in these stories, the purpose of telling them to children, besides passing them to new generations, of course, was always to scare them into behaving. So they wouldn’t wander off anywhere alone, especially into dangerous places, like mines. That always worked and the stories would get passed down from one generation to another.

On you, however, these stories did not work. At all.

It was quite the opposite, while other kids shook in fear when even saying the name Herobrine, you shook with excitement. Not that you found him to be cool or anything, at least not in a “he’s so cool!” way – he did still give you the creeps. But as soon as you heard about his existence for the first time, you couldn’t help but want to battle him one day. Any reasonable adult, when they heard about that, would look at you shocked and shush you for even thinking such things, let alone saying them out loud. But you didn’t care – your wild imagination would paint pictures of epic battles, where you, with a huge diamond sword in hands, would go against this monster, who has ruined and took so many lives. You would stand up bravely, say something really cool and then you’d fight. You knew it would be tough, but if you believed in yourself hard enough, you’d win, no doubt! And then you’d be the hero!

One day, you and a few other kids from the village were playing in a forest that was nearby. You weren’t supposed to be there, but it was so much better for playing hide-and-seek than the meadow! Eventually, though, a game of hiding turned into mindless running through the lush trees. To kids who have never been in a forest before it felt wonderful, like a small adventure that none of the adults will ever know about.

But all the fun running around suddenly stopped when you ran into something and stumbled onto the ground. Surprisingly, when that happened, every single one of your friends suddenly stopped laughing and running. They’ve gone so quiet, you couldn’t even hear them breath. That was strange, you expected them to laugh and tag you, or maybe help you get up. You opened your eyes to see what was going on. And suddenly, you realized why everyone was suddenly so quiet. 

When you hit something and fell, you thought you stumbled into a tree, because of how sturdy, cold and unmoving it was. But as soon as you looked up, you realized it was definitely not a tree.

Standing before you was a towering figure of a man in blue pants and cyan shirt. But what made you instantly recognize the man were his white glowing eyes.  
It was Herobrine, no doubt! He was looking down at you with a weird expression on his face. He looked really unamused. For some reason, you expected it to be something else, rather than something so… casual.

But it didn’t matter what face expression he had – he was still Herobrine. A creature that made so many people shake in fear was standing right there, right before you! You looked behind you to see your friends frozen in fear, their eyes wide open and completely focused on the abomination in front of you. Oh no, you just realized that your friends were in danger too!

But you were ready for this day. Feeling brave, you stood up on your feet and, without looking away from the glowing eyes, told your friends to run while you buy them some time. Your friends only hesitated for a short moment, before running away in the direction of your village. Meanwhile, you kept your eyes on your sworn enemy. Now his face showed slight amusement as he raised his brow at you. 

But you didn’t care how he looked at you. Nothing he could do could make you lose your courage. You stood straight, trying to make the most determined face you could muster, not breaking the eye contact with the monster. You put your fist up in an attempt to make yourself look more serious and heroic and said: “Herobrine! I know who you are and I’m not afraid of you! And I will fight you to protect my friends and this world!”

And with that, you dashed at the man with all you’ve got. As in, with your small fists. You generally were very small compared to him, so you only managed to hit his legs and just a small part of his stomach. You hit with all your might, but no matter how much you hit him, Herobrine didn’t seem to care. You hit him with as much power as you had, but it felt like hitting a stone wall – cold, hard, and not suffering any damage at all. You put even more strength into your hits, to the point you started to lose your breath. Your hands got tired, your breathing became heavy, and eventually you lost all your energy to battle. Meanwhile, Herobrine didn’t even move an inch.

Finally, you realized that you just can’t battle anymore and stopped hitting Herobrine. You rested your fists on his legs, leaning on him a little as to not fall, panting. You did not dare to look the entity in the eyes. How could you have been defeated?... But suddenly, you felt Herobrine’s body vibrate in a weird way, and you heard him make strange noises, as if he’s chocking. Did you… did you actually win?!

You finally dared look up at him. You expected to see his face to be twisted in pain from your mighty hits. But that wasn’t the case. He had a weird expression on his face – his mouth was twisted in something like a smile, except it looked like he was trying to hide it. He was breathing sharply through his nose drills, and his eyes were trying to hide… amusement?

Wait… was Herobrine laughing at you?!

Maybe the fight should have waited until you acquired a diamond sword… And suddenly, running away didn’t seem like such a bad idea. 

Meanwhile, Herobrine finally managed to suppress his laughter, while you were paralyzed and unable to run away. The creature with glowing eyes looked down at you with an amused half-smile. 

“Was that supposed to do something?”

His voice was deep, a little raspy, as if he hasn’t used it in a long time. Suddenly, you weren’t as scared anymore as you were embarrassed. You felt your cheeks get warm and you looked away, nothing to say. You puffed up your cheeks too. In hindsight, fighting was a pretty dumb idea, huh?

Herobrine gave you a small, amused sideways grin. “Well, run along. Be more prepared next time”.

He said it in a playful way, but your child mind decided that the entity actually meant it and ended up taking it seriously. You looked up at Herobrine with wide eyes, suddenly feeling scared. You jumped back, as if burned, and as soon as you were no longer leaning on the glowing-eyed man, you turned around and bolted in the direction of your village, fleeing the situation that, let’s be honest, you brought upon yourself. 

Once you made it out of the forest you were met with a group of concerned adults that were going to search for you. As soon as they saw you, they brought you back home. Of course, later, after making sure you and your friends were alright, all of you got a stern lecture about the dangers of going anywhere alone, especially forests.

You never told anyone about what happened to you with Herobrine. Partially because you didn’t think anyone would believe you – when your friends ran back to the village, scared, shouting that you stayed behind to buy them time and keep Herobrine occupied, the adults, for some reason, were adamant that it was all just your imagination playing tricks on you. Maybe they were just too scared to admit that their village might have been visited by the fearful entity. But the second reason was… that you were really embarrassed. All your life (or, well, for how long have you known about Herobrine), you thought that when you would encounter Herobrine, and you were absolutely sure that it would happen at some point, you would be able to beat him. Or, at the very least, would be able to put up a decent fight. That day, however, made you rethink your abilities. Maybe believing in yourself is not enough… 

Might wanna get that diamond sword before facing your arch nemesis again, after all.


	2. Teenager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You realise that your life goal might have been based on lies. So sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally, the start of the actual characer development for reader! no actual herobrine in this chapter though, reader is not ready yet, they're having an exidtential crisis c:  
> enjoy

When you were in your teens, you began to seriously consider becoming an adventurer and leaving your village to live alone. It’s not that your relationship with everyone got bad or anything, but rather your mentalities clashed too much. You wanted to go to faraway places, see what’s out there; have fun discovering new things. The village people, on the other hand, wanted to stay in one place, farm, have kids and have a calm, simple life. That wouldn’t have been much of a problem, if it wasn’t for the fact that you are a member of the village, therefore a part of the big family. That meant that people would constantly worry about you, give you lectures on dangers of venturing out too far – all that fun stuff. Of course you got tired of all that at some point. That was one of the reasons you decided to officially become an adventurer.

Another important reason was Herobrine.

Ever since the day you met him as a child, you couldn’t get the encounter out of your head. Even though it happened a long time ago, it was clear proof that Herobrine is real. And that thought didn’t let you let go of the idea to fight him.

Of course, the childish thought that you can defeat him by simply believing in yourself was long gone – as you got older, you realized how dumb it was. Now, you had a more refined plan. You were going to get a full diamond armor set and a diamond sword, preferably an enchanted one. You were also going to train – become a skilled fighter before facing Herobrine again in a deciding battle.

The reason you wanted to leave your village was not just your thirst for adventure, it was a precaution. You decided that since you were going to beat Herobrine, you might want not to put your village in danger, in case the beast decided to haunt the people near you.

Around a year before you were finally set on leaving one day, your village was visited by a wandering adventurer. You didn’t get a lot of wanderers like that, so it was your first time meeting someone like that. It was a relatively young man with a cheerful smile and positive attitude. He stayed in your village for a few days to rest a bit from wandering and maybe to trade.

When you asked the wanderer to meet you in private to talk, he was very understanding. As soon as he learned that you were planning on becoming an adventurer too, he became very enthusiastic about helping. He gave you a map, one like you’ve never seen before. All the maps you’ve ever come across before that limited amount of land – it was pretty much useless, unless you never leave your house at all. The map you got showed an enormous, as you thought back then, amount of land. At first you were reluctant to take such a generous gift, but the adventurer assured you that he has a copy anyway, and he’d be glad for you to have it, since it’ll help you get started on your ambition. He told you a little about the world and what he’s seen and gave you an advice – before standing a big adventure, try just adventuring to nearby villages first. This way you’d get used to travelling alone while still having breaks once in a while.

After the adventurer left your village, you started to study the map carefully. You learned so much about the areas around your village thanks to it. You actually had no idea that there was a different village over the mountains that were not too far away from your home. It was in a snowy biome too, you’ve never been to one before. And it wasn’t the only village on the map. Besides yours, there were five other villages. One in a desert too.

You were very excited to start your own adventure. After carefully studying the whole map you decided that the best plan would be to head for the closest village – the one that’s in a snowy tundra. This way you’d be able to get a taste of adventuring without jumping straight into the most difficult parts of it. After that, depending on how everything goes, you’d either go back to your village, or move on to the next closest one. After that, you’ll visit every other village on the map, and after that you’ll come back home and finally start your own big adventure, without using villages as constant checkpoints.

Once you turned seventeen, you packed everything you prepared for this day and told everyone in your village goodbye. You kept your ambitions a secret until this moment, so this was the moment everyone heard about it for the first time, so of course you didn’t leave before you got everyone asking you to reconsider, because it’s very dangerous and you can always just live a calm life in the village. You felt a little bad because you knew that they were doing this because they care about you and worry about your safety. But you were set on your dream and couldn’t let your friends and family stop you, no matter how good their intentions are. So, you ended up leaving anyway, and the whole village, after they failed to change your silhouette became smaller and smaller on the horizon, until it disappeared completely.

It took you several days of walking, but you managed to make it to the village. The trip went alright; it was very exciting for you to finally be in an environment that you dreamed about so much. You slept in small shelters you found on your way, like tiny caves that were big enough to shelter you, but not big enough to be dangerous, as no mobs hang out in them. The weather was nice, so you didn’t go as well as you were hoping though – while you were in the snowy tundra, the only animal you came across that you could eat were rabbits, and they turned out to be too fast for you. Good thing you packed up some bread and apples before leaving home.

The people of the snowy village welcomed you warmly enough. They understood you when you told them that you’re a rookie adventurer and for now just go from village to village to get used to travelling and living alone.

The folk let you spend a few nights in their village. Besides needing to rest from surviving and walking for a bit, you needed to restock the food. You also wanted to talk to people. After all, one of the most exciting parts of travelling is meeting new people and talking to them. And talk you did.

You were interested in anything, from the way they grow their crops while living in such a harsh environment, to the stories they tell their kids before bed.

This discussion actually led you to the topic of Herobrine eventually. And you were very surprised with what you found out. Of course, after hearing his story told differently in every single interpretation, you were used to such difference. The core was always the same though – a paranormal entity that kills and haunts people for no reason. What you heard from the tundra villagers, however, was completely different; to them Herobrine was not a vengeful entity, he was an entity that keeps company to those who are dying alone and safely guides their souls to Aether. Again, his origin story seemed to be always different, depending on who was telling it. Some said he was a god, some said he was created by gods from a lump of snow and a bolt of lightning. Some think he once was a human that died alone in a blizzard, which is why he’s trying to make the fate of people who suffer the same end as him a bit better. Again, the origin was always different, but the core was the same – Herobrine is not evil, quite the opposite.

Hearing this new information honestly got you stumped. Until this moment, you never doubted what your village told you. It never occurred to you that they might be wrong about Herobrine. But, then again, who said that this village’s interpretation was correct? For all you knew, it’s they who were wrong and your village’s version that was right. At least, that’s how you were trying to comfort yourself, because if the people of this village were right, and Herobrine is not actually evil, that would mean that a big part of your personality and motivation were based on a lie, therefore have no right to exist. You couldn’t accept that.

You decided not to focus on it too much for now. But you did decide to learn about it more – when you move to the next village, you would ask about their thoughts on Herobrine as well and see what their point of view is.

After you rested and restocked on food, you said goodbye to the snowy village and moved on ahead, to the next one. Now you were planning to go to the one that’s in the mountains. The distance was going to be noticeably longer than last time, but you decided that you can make it. You had enough food, you’d learn to hunt better, walking should be fine as you’ve somewhat gotten used to it now. You knew you’d be fine.

This time the journey was more difficult, just as you expected, mostly because it was longer. However, it did help that you’re already did this not long ago. You started to estimate time better, only going into the caves to get some coal and iron that was not too deep in, wake up with sunrise and go to sleep with sunset. As soon as you left the tundra, hunting became easier – instead of rabbits, you’ve started to come across sheep, cows and pigs. You even got some milk and eggs. You kept them until you got some wheat, so you could make a cake you often had back home.

Despite all the difficulties that adventuring held, you were having a great time. Going into a different biome made you feel excited, same with discovery of a new cave or a spot where you could mine resources. It felt like you were having the most fun since you were a child. You felt even more excited when you finally made it to the village, days later.

The people of the village were very excited that you came, as they were in need of resources and were very eager to trade. You stayed in this village a bit longer than you did in the previous one, as you decided to go around and mine a little so that you’d have more items for trading and the village had a little more resources that they needed.

Of course, you asked the folk about Herobrine as well. Now you were just confused. In this village, people seemed to think that Herobrine was neither evil nor good. He was simply a ghost that lives in caves and mineshafts and stalks people that go there. Which is pretty creepy, sure, but he does nothing other than watch from his hiding places, so that can’t really be called evil.

Okay, now you were having an existential crisis. Is Herobrine evil or not?! How the Nether were you supposed to battle him if you had no idea if he even deserved that?!

You continued on your quest, going from one village to another. Slowly but surely, you were becoming better at adventuring. However, your confusion about Herobrine only became worse. Literally every village had a different interpretation of him. Some said he was evil and violent, some said he was pretty nice to humans, some said he was more neutral than anything else. A monster, a vengeful ghost, a god, a mischievous spirit; literally none of the stories were the same!

After visiting all the villages that were on the map, you returned home, to your own village. Your friends and family were happy to see you alive and well after the long adventure, and with a bag full of goodies. You wished you could have been just as happy as they were. Of course you missed them, but the Herobrine thing just wasn’t letting you feel joy, you felt… betrayed in a way. Like everything you believed in was a lie and now you weren’t sure what to do anymore. Of course, adventuring was always your dream, even without Herobrine, but facing him in a battle was somewhat of a goal for you. Something that would have been an epic conclusion to your journey, something that your adventure would have prepared you for. And now, adventuring just sounded… pointless. You really shouldn’t think think like this, you knew it. The point of adventuring isn’t about reaching some sort of goal, it’s about the process itself. It was just difficult to accept that something that affected your life so much since early age might have been a lie.

But that’s the key word – “ _might_ ”. It _might_ have been a lie. But it _might_ have been _not_. You couldn’t say for sure which version of the story was true; who’s to say that it wasn’t the one that came from your village? At least, that’s what you were telling yourself

The idea was giving you hope. _Maybe_ Herobrine was actually the villain. _Maybe_ there was no need for you to feel like your life was a lie, because it actually wasn’t. Sure, he let you live when you were a kid, but hey, that doesn’t mean anything, right?

You sat on your bed in your old house. You decided to stay here for a little bit, before actually starting an adventure of your own, without the planned checkpoints and without a map. You just needed some time to think everything through before taking any action.

You sighed. Now you had a new plan. After resting for a little bit, you’ll start your own adventure and find Herobrine. During your travels you learned that there is a way to summon Herobrine – you needed to build a certain summoning shrine. You even got the recipe from one of the braver villagers. Building it would be pretty difficult and would take a lot of time, as for building it you would need a lot of gold. You will even have to travel to Nether! But you will do it. You needed answers, might as well get them from Herobrine himself.

And this time, you will have a diamond sword ready too, just in case.


	3. Adult

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did you come to this? You try to answer that question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOOOOOOO BOYYYY, this took WAY longer than i thought it would! i knew third chapter would be the longest one but damn, bigger than first and second chapter combined?!
> 
> sorry for taking so long, hope i won't disappoint xD

Naked, Herobrine was sleeping soundly in his bed. You were lying in the same bed, also naked, cuddling the white-eyed man. But unlike him, you weren’t asleep. In fact, you were wide awake, while your head was full of thoughts that were racing through it. You were feeling a very confusing mix of emotions. You felt confused, yet content. In love, yet panicking. It was like you only just realized what situation you were in and were trying to make sense of it, yet you didn’t actually mind.

How in the Nether did that happen?

In your mind you went back to a certain point in time, specifically seven months ago. You just turned twenty three and you’ve been adventuring for almost five years. Ever since you left your village for the second time, you’ve been working on getting all the necessary materials for building a summoning shrine while still surviving and having fun on your adventure. At first you’ve been on your feet all the time, but eventually came across a very scenic place that you deemed perfect and camped there, until you built a permanent home in that place. Even after you settled, you’d still go on long expeditions that would sometimes take months.

Of course, you made your own mine where you would get most of your resources. You even created a small open space there, for the Nether portal. It took a while, but you made your new house the perfect home for you.

That wasn’t all you were focused on though. All these years you never forgot about the promise that you made to yourself – build the summoning shrine, learn more about Herobrine when you summon him and then beat him in a battle, probably.

Getting all the necessary resources took you a while too. You had to make a lot of trips to mines and caves, a few leaps into Nether, and a lot of expeditions when you were lucky enough to come across a village where you’d be able to get your equipment enchanted.

And finally, the day came. The day when you finally gathered everything you needed and would finally summon Herobrine.

You woke up with the sunset, fully equipped yourself and went outside to build the shrine. You quickly set it up, but when the time came to set the netherrack on fire, you hesitated. All this time you’ve been preparing for this moment, but right now, for the first time, you actually felt a little scared. You weren’t a naïve child anymore; you knew that beating Herobrine wouldn’t be a piece of cake, even if you believed in yourself really hard. You weren’t a reckless teen anymore either; you didn’t have any illusions that you might somehow get lucky during the battle and use that luck to defeat a powerful inhuman entity.

And yet, there you were, still trying along with the plan you made so many years ago. Why? You weren’t sure yourself. Maybe you were trying to prove to yourself that the main goal you’ve set for yourself was not a waste of time and effort. Frankly, you didn’t think about it too much. You weren’t sure you wanted to.

You took a deep breath and lit the netherrack up, completing the summoning ritual. As soon as the spark from your flint touched the surface, the rock from Nether lit up with a flash. You had no time to regret your secession, because as soon as you lit the netherrack up, it got hit by a lightning. You didn’t expect that and jumped back with a yelp, closing your eyes. You didn’t expect this to happen and the lightning blinded your eyes for a few seconds.

Where did the lightning even come from, anyway? The sky was clear when you started setting up the shrine…

You rubbed your eyes until they stopped hurting and looked at your creation, hoping not to find it destroyed by the sudden weather change. But what you saw made your body get paralyzed by fear.

On top of the shrine, that was untouched by the lightning, right in the middle of the fire you set up, stood Herobrine. The creature with white glowing eyes towered above you, watching you carefully with a face that you couldn’t read. Even though it was a bright morning, to you it felt like Herobrine’s eyes were the brightest thing you could see at the moment. All your attention was drawn to the creature.

Despite getting ready for this day almost literally your whole life, now that you were finally facing Herobrine with full equipment, your mind was blank and you couldn’t bring yourself to get your sword out, much less say something.

You gave yourself a mental slap. What were you doing?! How could you cower in fear like this, after planning to do this for so many years?! What was the point of summoning Herobrine if all you were going to do was sit there, shaking, unable to put up a fight?!

No. You had to be strong. It shouldn’t matter right now, if you regretted your decision or not, if you were going to die, you better put up a fight first.

You bit your lip and finally felt yourself be able to move again. You took another deep breath and stood straight, trying to think of what to do or say, while Herobrine watched you with the same unreadable expression.

You looked him straight in the eyes, trying to look and feel brave. You decided not to attack immediately, but rather follow your original plan – ask Herobrine about what he actually is.

Another deep breath (in retrospective, that must have looked really silly to anyone who wasn’t you) and you were finally ready.

“What are you?”

Oh. Oh wait. That sounded very dumb without context, as if you made the summoning shrine without actually knowing what it does. Why didn’t you elaborate? You could only guess that you failed to get rid of all the fear and you were still scared. Just a little.

Thankfully, the silence didn’t last long enough to become awkward. Apparently your stupid question was enough to make the creature a bit more talkative.

“… _What_?”

Despite everything, things weren’t going too bad. At least now you could actually understand Herobrine’s face expression. It was something between stumped and mildly amused. Not the best combination to see on someone like him, but hey, better than anger or fury.

The fact that he actually spoke to you, even a little, boosted your confidence, and you spoke again.

“I’ve heard many stories about you. Some said you are evil and murder people for fun, some said you let dying people have a peaceful end. I’ve came to ask, which story is true?”

Yes, that sounded pretty epic, good job! You may have started out wonky, but you’re still in control of the situation!

“I’m pretty sure it was me who came here, not you”.

You felt yourself begin to sweat at the deep, slightly scratchy voice. He _is_ right, you summoned him, you didn’t go to find him. Oops?

“And to answer your question…”

You became alarmed as Herobrine stood straight, while still looking down at you. It didn’t seem like he was in a hurry to answer. Maybe he was enjoying you being uncomfortable. He made a step forward and, against all laws of physics, instead of falling off the shrine, Herobrine floated off it and landed gracefully in front of you. The smug grin on his face, especially since the creature was now so close to you, made you suddenly very aware of how dangerous the situation you were in was. Subconsciously you reached for your back to quickly get your sword out if the situation called for it.

Herobrine leaned in even closer. So close, that you could almost feel his breath, and your eyes started to hurt from how bright his shone.

“…Why don’t you find out yourself, hmm?”

The way he said it and the way he looked at you, something in your brain clicked and you took his answer as a “evil”. You felt your face grow hotter with anger. You were no longer scared, you were furious. Your hand immediately grabbed your enchanted diamond sword and pointed it at Herobrine. He was standing so close that it would have pierced the entity if he hadn’t moved out of the way with an inhuman speed.

“In that case, I will punish you for all your evil deeds and will make sure that you will not hurt anyone ever again!”

All fear forgotten, you sprinted to where Herobrine was standing and in one swift movement pierced the creature’s chest with your sword. You expected there to be blood, a sound of your blade hitting flesh, some sort of physical force to go against your sword, but there was nothing. Literally, the sword went through Herobrine’s torso as if he wasn’t there like he was just mist.

You felt afraid once again. You anticipated that something like this might happen, because there was a chance that Herobrine is not corporeal. But that’s why you had your sword enchanted in such a special way that it affects soul as the body. Yet, it seemed like Herobrine was not harmed in any way, at all. His face showed no pain, he only raised a brow at you, as if to ask “is this it?”

You drew your sword back and jumped back a little, expecting Herobrine to attack back while you were so close. He didn’t move in your direction at all, however. In fact, he hadn’t moved at all, and you got a bit cocky.

“I see, so you _are_ a ghost! Or maybe you’re a spirit?”

You weren’t sure why you decided that taunting was a good idea. You regretted it almost immediately, when Herobrine suddenly appeared right in front of you, closer than ever before. Before you could react, he put his hand up before your forehead, ready to punch.

“If I were a ghost or a spirit… would I have been able to do this?”

You braced yourself for a strong hit, but you only felt something, like a weak tap on your forehead. Weak, as in it didn’t really hurt you. No more than a casual flick. It did, however, knock you off your feet, making you fall on your butt into an unflattering position.

You were very confused. You looked up to see Herobrine, still towering you. Except now he didn’t look very threatening. He looked more like a kid who just saw their friend fall into a puddle and found it incredibly hilarious. Even the laughing was the same.

“Oh god- oh wow- ahahaha- you should have seen your face! You thought I was serious- ahahaha!”

Herobrine was laughing so hard, he grabbed his stomach and doubled over. You weren’t even scared anymore, you were genuinely confused.

What in the Nether is going on?!

“Wh-what?!”

“Your face. It was hilarious. Man, if I knew you’re so fun to mess with, I would have revealed myself to you years ago! Guess I wanted today to be special. Oh well”.

Herobrine put his hands on the back of his head in a relaxed position. He turned away from you and started walking away.

“Well, see you later, I guess”.

Revealed himself earlier? Hilarious? Later?! What?!

“Wait a minute-“

You stood up as soon as possible (though it was pretty hard, considering you were wearing a full set of diamond armor, which was _incredibly_ heavy) to try and somehow stop Herobrine before he leaves, but by the time you got on your feet, the man was already gone. Now you were left alone with your thoughts and a burning shrine near your house.

For about a week, nothing special happened. You recovered from shock, but confusion never left. It was all just so surreal; Herobrine came to you and almost killed you… and then said that he was kidding and popped out of existence. To anyone else it might have sounded silly, but you were not in a mood to laugh. In fact, you might have become a little paranoid. Every time you went into a cave or a mineshaft, you couldn’t get rid of a feeling that someone is watching behind your back. But every time you looked behind you, there was no one. You started carrying your diamond sword on you all the time, just in case.

But as time passed, you were starting to calm down. You were just paranoid, no one and nothing was stalking you. It was just your imagination playing tricks on you. No wonder, anyone would become paranoid after what happened a week ago. But you’re not helping anyone by fearing any unfamiliar sound you heard in caves and forests; you were only making your own life more stressful. You should relax.

Those were your thoughts when you were coming back home after a day of mining. You were exhausted, both physically and mentally, and just wanted to take a break from everything. From work, from getting spooked by every twig snap, everything. And you actually managed to convince yourself that you didn’t have to be on edge all the time.

Good. You really needed a break.

As soon as you came into your house however, all that effort turned out to be in vain. Because in your house, on your bed, was Herobrine, in a very leisurely position, reading one of the books from your home’s library and eating an apple. On closer inspection, the apple was also yours, if your food chest being open was anything to go by.

Your initial reaction was to scream and run away, but it was overpowered by frustration; how dare this cryptid come into your house, eat your food and take your bed?!

“Hey!”

Herobrine looked up from the book at you.

“What are you doing in my house?!”

“Ah”.

Herobrine took another bite of the apple and put his hand under his head. With how relaxed he was, it was obvious that he was not planning on leaving any time soon. He focused on the book again, not giving you a glance when speaking.

“You took way too long in the mines so I decided to wait for you here and have a snack”.

You were at a loss for words. What. Why? How? What the?

“I didn’t invite you in! Get out!”

Herobrine closed the book and jumped out of your bed, moving close to you in one swift motion. Just like the last time he was so close, you would’ve been able to feel his breath, if he did actually need to breathe.

“Oh, really? Because if you didn’t want me here, why is the summoning shrine still standing there, right outside your house?”

Herobrine moved away from you, taking another bite of the apple and directing his attention to your bookshelves. You honestly couldn’t say anything in return; you yourself weren’t sure why you didn’t dismantle the shrine after everything that happened. In fact, it was like the idea of breaking it never came to you at all, as if to you it was just not a possibility. But you’d have to think about that later.

You crossed your arms on your chest and made an unamused face.

“Oh, so putting it away would have kept you away from my house, then?”

Herobrine grabbed another book, not even looking at you.

“Well, no. I’d still be there, because I don’t care. But it’s the thought that counts, you know. That thing is basically a “come in” sign for me”.

You felt your cheeks get warmer. You weren’t sure why, but the fact that you didn’t even think about dismantling the shrine, even though you were so paranoid Herobrine would get you, made you feel really embarrassed. You pretty much had nothing to answer with.

Herobrine finally looked up at you with a bored expression. The silence must have been not what he wanted to hear, so he raised his hands in a “I give up” way and walked to the exit, passing you by.

“I see you’re tired, so you’re not very entertaining today. Alright, I’ll come by later then”.

And with that he disappeared into thin air, without even making it to the front door. For a minute or two you stared into empty space, trying to process what the Nether just happened and what Herobrine’s words implied.

You could already tell that this was not the last time you’d see Herobrine in your house. And yet, somehow, you didn’t feel exactly opposed to the idea.

Not that you’d ever admit it to the ghost gremlin.

A month later you realized that, for better or for worse, you were not living alone anymore, not truly, at least.

After you encountered Herobrine in your house for the first time, you only had a few days break before he showed up again. For some reason, you weren’t even scared anymore, just mildly annoyed. If he was trying to haunt you, he was doing a pretty lousy job.

Every time Herobrine showed up in your house, he would wither eat your food, take your bed or disorganize your bookshelves and chests. Sometimes, he would combine those activities. He also took a particular interest in annoying you. Want to read a book? Get ready for a billion questions. What are you reading? Is it interesting? Can you read it out loud? Oh, you wanted to have a nice meal? Herobrine will stare at you without moving an inch until you share whatever you’re having. Sometimes he doesn’t even have to be in the same place as you; you could make sure that you were completely alone all you wanted, but as soon as you start eating, he’s already sitting on your bed, his gaze boring into you, until you reluctantly give him some food too.

Things like these were not limited to your home either. Every time you went into a cave or a mineshaft, you knew that Herobrine was somewhere close, watching you work. Whenever you went somewhere far away from your home, like an expedition, he’d casually walk or float next to you.

In all honesty, you should have thought that all of this was really annoying. You did actively show the spirit-ghost-whatever that you are. But when it came down to thinking about it, you kind of weren’t. Well, to be fair, it was really annoying at first, but as the time went on, Herobrine’s presence became somewhat comforting. Maybe living alone for such a long time with very limited human contact had played its role. You weren’t sure and frankly, you didn’t care that much. There was a moment when Herobrine didn’t show up for a few days and you realized that you genuinely missed the white-eyed jerk. Not that you admitted it to him when he cheekily asked if you missed him while he was gone.

You still remembered the day the two of you got close for the first time. You were reading a book at home while it rained outside and Herobrine was relaxing on his own bed. He started to hang around in your house so often that he basically lived there, and you didn’t want him to take your bed all the time. As always, he would occasionally ask a question. As the time went on, it felt less like he wanted to annoy you or actually learn about the book you were reading and more like he just wanted to fill the silence with something. The questions were no longer about the book and knew more personal, soon you started to ask questions as well, and before you realized it, the two of you were having an actual conversation. You told Herobrine about your childhood, about yourself in general. Gradually, the book you were reading was forgotten.

“So, basically, you decided to leave your house because of me?”

You shrugged, “Eh, kinda. I would have probably still become an adventurer if you didn’t show up, but I’m not sure if I would have left the village”.

Herobrine hummed, seemingly thinking about something. You looked out the window at the rain.

“I’m surprised you remembered that day at all. I’m really nothing special, why would you remember meeting a random child?”

Herobrine looked at you weird, “What? I don’t think you give yourself enough credit, any child I’ve ever met before would run away, you are pretty much the only one who acted the way you did”.

Now it was your turn to be stumped, “Wait, really?”

“Yeah. Why do you think I actually came when you summoned me? Or why I keep coming back here? If I showed up in front of anyone else, they would have either ran away or tried to worship me. You’re the only person that treated me like an actual person”.

Wait, what? The only one? “You’ve got to be kidding, right? I can’t be the only one who did that. And I can’t be the only one who was a dumb kid that thought they could beat you”.

“Believe what you want, but that’s how it was and still is. And I meet a lot of people, why do you think so many people know about my existence?”

You sat up in your bed, “Actually, about that. How come everyone has a different interpretation of you? Does any of them even have an ounce of truth to them?”

Herobrine thought for a few seconds before answering, “Hmmm… I don’t know which one is true, because I don’t know most of them”.

“Alright, are you a god? A ghost? A spirit?”

“Good question. I don’t know. I woke up one day in a forest, no memories of any past lives, so I assume I’m either a spirit or a god. Depends on what you think a god is, I suppose”.

You nodded. You could see where he was coming from, with his abilities it was hard to tell whether he qualified as a god or not. He could fly and become incorporeal at will, which would make him a spirit. He could also communicate with mobs – that you noticed almost instantly. Ever since Herobrine started to hang around you, the mobs became suspiciously docile towards you… But besides that, Herobrine could also materialize things out of thin air, including very valuable ones, like diamonds (he never shares those with you, that bastard), which is way more than spirits can do. But at the same time, he couldn’t do much else that gods were usually said to be able to do.

“Hmm, I see… well, what about your motive?”

“…My motive?”

“Well, some people say you stalk and kill miners, some say you guide souls into Aether. Is any of that true?”

Even though Herobrine didn’t have pupils, you could tell that he rolled his eyes.

“Ugh. People always make stuff up when they’re scared and don’t have enough information”.

Herobrine grew quiet after that. You waited a few seconds for him to continue. When you realized that he was not going to elaborate, you decided to ask yourself.

“Well… what do you do then?”

Herobrine looked at you, then out the window, then at the ceiling. The silence lasted for a while, so you thought that maybe he didn’t want to talk about that. You were about to drop the subject and return to your book when Herobrine finally spoke up again.

“…I don’t know. I just… pop in here and there occasionally…”

Maybe your ears were playing a trick on you, but you could swear that the way Herobrine said that sounded… sad. Not even the regular kind of sad, he sounded like someone who has given up on himself. You weren’t sure what to make of it. You wanted to ask if he was lonely and if this was why he would always hang around you so much, but decided against it. In the end, you kept your thoughts to yourself.

But ending the conversation on such a sour note just didn’t feel right, so you tried to think of something to say.

“…Do you want me to read out loud? I’ll start from the beginning of the book”.

For the first few seconds, Herobrine didn’t say anything, but you continued to wait for the answer. You knew that he heard you and was just thinking about something. Finally, you heard a sigh.

“…Yeah, that would be nice”.

You opened the book at the first page and began reading out loud, as the rain outside was making pitter-patter sounds and Herobrine listened to your voice quietly.

You smiled at the memory as you cuddled sleeping Herobrine. Back then, you had no idea how important that moment was for your relationship. It was the first step to actually becoming close. But if you had to choose the most memorable moment you’ve shared together so far, it would have had to be the night you tried to teach Herobrine how to dance.

One day, you came home after a journey to the village that was a few biomes away from your house. With you, you brought a music disc. You knew they existed, but you’ve never owned one before, so of course when you were offered one during a trade, you couldn’t keep yourself from buying it. It just so happened that you also had a diamond to spare, so you could make a jukebox too!

When the jukebox was finally done, you put it proudly in the corner of the room.

“Finally, it’s done!”

Herobrine looked over your shoulder with mild curiosity.

“What’s done?”

“The jukebox! Now we can listen to the music disc and even dance!”

Herobrine didn’t look very excited, especially when compared to you.

“You sound way too excited about that”.

“Well, why wouldn’t I be? The last time I heard music or danced was almost four years ago, of course I’m excited!”

“I just don’t understand what’s so appealing about moving your body to music, looking like an idiot”.

You looked at Herobrine as if he just grew a second head.

“What. Have you even danced before?”

Herobrine shrugged, “Can’t say I have”.

“Well then, you can’t say you don’t like it! Actually, here, I’ll show you”.

You took the disc and looked at its name before putting it into the jukebox. The label said “Wet hands”. You couldn’t say you recognized the tracks name. The melody itself was unfamiliar to you as well. As soon as you set the disk into the slot, a pleasant music began to play. The piano was calming and was making you feel somewhat nostalgic about your old village. If you were honest, you expected the melody on the disc to be something more cheery, like the “cat” that you liked so much as a child, but this one was very good nonetheless. Even though it was more fitting for a slow dance, and you weren’t really good at those.

You turned around to face Herobrine. He still didn’t seem too excited, but he didn’t protest when you put his hand on your waist and your hand on his shoulder. He also didn’t complain when you took his other hand into yours. If anything, you could feel his eyes bore into you with curiosity and something else that you couldn’t identify. He seemed to enjoy the music too.

“There, now you move your feet slowly…”

The two of you began to circle around each other to the slow piano music. At first you could feel that Herobrine was stiff; he was trying to mimic your movements without stepping on your feet. You liked him in the eyes.

“Don’t try so hard to do this perfectly. Just move to the music and relax”.

It took some time, but he finally relaxed and the two of you danced. For about ten minutes, it felt like the two of you were the only people in the world. Like this is the only thing that mattered, just the two of you, moving in synch to the music.

This was the first time in a long while that you looked Hero in the eyes while being so close. The last time was months ago, when you summoned him and he tried to intimidate you. But things were very different this time around. Back then, your eyes would hurt from how bright his were. But not now. Now, it felt like you could spend an eternity staring at them and never get bored. Looking into them no longer hurt. Instead, it made your chest feel warmer.

Neither of you noticed that you started to get closer to eachother. Soon, you were no longer in the proper dancing position. Somehow, during the dance, you moved so close to eachother, you were now hugging, holding eachother very close, while still moving around to the sound of piano. Somehow, it felt natural.

During the dance you realized that this was the closest you’ve ever been to eachother. Not just that, this was the first time you’ve had such close physical contact with eachother. Sure, you’ve touched before, but it would always be a light push, a fist bump, a playful shove – nothing that felt so personal and intimate. This was the first time either one of you have been so close to eachother, and that night you both decided that you liked it.

Later that night, you couldn’t help but wonder if this was Hero’s first hug ever.

You smiled at the pleasant memory and subconsciously snuggled closer to your cryptid partner. Herobrine must have felt that in his sleep, as he wrapped his other arm around you and held you closer to him. You sighed in content, closing your eyes and drifting into sleep as well.

Who would have thoughts so many years ago that you, a hyperactive kid who was so determined to battle Herobrine, would later find yourself in his arms? No one, probably. But you wouldn’t say that you felt disappointed that Hero turned out to be different than how you always imagined. You didn’t feel empty about losing an objective you’ve had for so long, either. In fact, you’ve probably felt happier than ever before in your life.

You had to admit to yourself, you’ve had quite a serious character development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i know that wet hands is not a disc and is from minecraft ost. no, i don't care. it's a great melody and works really good for slow dancing, don't @ me :V
> 
> ALSO in case you happen to like this work, while writting third chapter i had some ideas that i really wanted to write but ultimately decided to scrap, because they didn't fit the narrative. but i don't want to abandon them, so there's a pretty big possibility i'll write more of these two dorks ;)


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